Composition for inhibiting foam



- and to the following Patented Nova 9, 1948 UNITED, srirss PATENT '0 2 453,352 mes COMPOSITION FOR .lmnm'rmq roam Henry a. Treinain and Leslie R; Bacon wyam.

dotte, Micln, asslgnorl to Corporation, of Michigan No Drawing. Application July Wyandotte Chemicals Wyandotte, Micln, a corporation Serial No. 607,276 a Claims. '(01. 252 21) The present invention relates to a composition a process for tion is particularly adapted.

' In our co-pending application Serial No. 520,- 960, filed February 3, 1944, now U. S. Patent No. 2,407,589, we have disclosed a foam inhibitor and a process for suppressing the formation of foam molecular weight in which the major active ingredient is ditertiary' amyl phenoxyethanol oxyethanol. played unusual foam inhibiting properties, not only with respect to their ability to knock down" foam which has already 'been formed in industrial chemical process aqueous systems, but also or p-tertiary amyl phenwith respect to their ability to maintain foam suppression for relatively long periods of time. As compared to foam inhibiting compositions heretofore known and used, the above mentioned compounds of our aforesaid co-pendlng applica-, tion, when tested both in the held and in the laboratory under similar rigorous conditions, have displayed vastly superior foam inhibiting properties. We have now discovered that not only the two amyl phenoxyethanols above mentioned, but also-organic chemical compounds corresponding general formula, have similar outstanding anti-foaming properties:

=aromatic hydrocarbon of the benzene series =1 or greater whole number Exemplary of compounds coming within this gen-' eral chemical formula are: di-tertiary amyl phenoxyethanol, p-tertiary amyl phenoxyethanol, di-tertiary amyl phenoxy propanol and ditertiary amyl phenoxy isopropanol.

These phenoxy alkanols, when added to an I aqueous body, have the tendency to remain in These two compounds have dis- Acto.

ber of hydrophile chemical compounds which are phenoxy alkanol inhibitors dispersing action sodium petroleum sulfonates. sodium salts of fonic'acids of alkyl aryl petroleum hydrocarbons, having from 20 to 30 carbon atoms. Where the namely; high term "sodium petroleum sulfonate is hereinafter used in the specification and claims, it will mean the material as' just defined. These sodium petroleum sulfonates are commercially available under the trade names Petronate," Oronite" and The presence of either one of these two dispersing agents in the amount of .05 to 5% 'by weight on the basis of the phenoxy alkanol compound, represents a suitable range of formulation. They are excellent dispersing agents where some degree of agitation or stirring is present in the aqueous system or medium since it induces an incipient spreading or dispersing action which is then augmented by the mechanical agitation.

Under most conditions of use, only a very small amount of the foam inhibiting compositions of our invention need be employed, viz: a minimum of 0.001% by weight (on basis of active foam inhibiting ingredient present) of the aqueous body or solution to which the inhibitor compositions are added.

A further objective of the present invention has been to discover relatively chemically but physically effective inert vehicles or carriers for these phenoxy alkanol compositions whereby they may be compounded in a convenient and suitable form for handling, packaging, and use. We have found that such vehicles or carriers selected from the group consisting of aliphatic 3 to 6 carbon atomalcohois and glycolic ethers, make excellent liquid carriers which are compatible with the aforesaid amyl phenoxy alkanols both chemically and physically.

The preferred liquid vehicles which are both chemically and physically compatible with the amyl phenoxy alkanols, and are found within the group consisting of aliphatic 3 to 6carbon atomcontaining ketones, alcohols and glycolic ethers thesephenoxy alkanols and causing them tospread over and become dispersed in the aqueous body wherein the foam inhibiting action is desired. Although there are available a large numare: tertiary butanol, iso-propanol, methyl isolbutyl ketone,n-lbutanol, sec-butanol, the amyl alcohols, di-ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (available under the trade-name "Methyl Cal bitol), diethylene glycol monoethyl ether (available under the trade-name Ethyl Carbitol), acetonylacetone (2, 5 di-ketohexane), and 2- methyl-2, 4-pentanediol.

From the foregoing list of suitable liquid diluents, 2-methyl-2, 4-pentanediol is the one most suitable and preferred for our composition. When 2-methyl-2, 4-pentanedio1 is present in conjuncoil soluble sul-' formed in an apparatus which we have chosen to call a dynamic foaming machine" and is described in detail in our aforesaid co-pending application Serial No. 520,960.

Several exemplary tionsmade according to 15 foam inhibiting composithe principle of our invention have been subjected to this test procedure, and the results thereof are set forth in the nuts amounts of dye may be added a distinctive color is desired.

The presence of the water in the formulations of Examples 4, and 6 reduces the viscosity of the mixture and aids in its subsequent use and introduction into aqueous baths or solutions. These latter formulations, consisting of the four ingredients, i. e.: the phenoxy alkanol foam inhibitor, the aliphatic alcohol blending agent, the sodium petroleum sulfonate dispersing agent, and water are in single phase physical form, viz: they do not form, or separate out into, two or more layers or heterogeneous physical phases. This extraordinary physical property (when it is considered that certain of the ingredients are otherwise individually physically immiscible or incompatible) is most beneficial. The single phase mixture need not be agitated or shaken up each time it is to be used. Also the uniformity of following table: 20 the formulation for each time a fractional quan- Table I Peroenta Amount of Duration Formulation Amy w of Foam Foam Inhibitor in Dynamic Pheno Bu press suppmb Test Sol'n. fizz? sion I EXAMPLE 1 rtla am 1 heno ethanol Gram Minutes Hours 1& 1 10 0.1 2 11 EXAMPLE 2 Dgtegtiary amylphenoxyethanol, mi hni,'fi% 0-094 Tetradeeanol, 6.0%

EXAMPLE 3 Di-tert amylphenoxypropa- EXAMPLE 4 I Dgggrtiary amylphenoxyethanol, z-metliyi fi hdibljlfilli as 0.1 .134 95 Petronate 10% Water,

EXAMPLE 5 D :ii-tertiary amylphenoxyethanol, a-mefiiyi i15553665113665: as 0.1 1% 1'0 "Oronite Wetting Agent," 5%..-- Water,

EXAMPLE 6 DiI-gg rtiary amylphenoxyethanol, amefiiyi-z'fi 'fiiiidfdljss'iifl as 0.1 1% on "Acto 60," 10%, y

1 All percentages given herein are by weight unless otherwise specified.

composition of Example It will be noted in the 2, that there is a small percentage of tet- .radecanol present. Other organic compounds,

such as the several alcohols and esters (as noted application Serial No.

in our said eo-pending 520,960 as previously utilized anti-foaming agents) may be added in small amounts without going beyond the scope and spirit of our invention, since they do not detract from the foam inhibiting properties of the active amyl phenoxy alkanol ingredient, but do serve as a convenient By the same token, mi-

formulating ingredient.

tity is withdrawn for use from a larger quantity in a container, is insured.

The foam inhibitor formulation of Example 11 mined that the percentages of the respective in gredients therein may be varied over the following ranges, without sacrificing the water solution dispersing abilities thereof: di-tertiary amyl phenoxyethanol 20 to 40%, 2-methyl-2, 4-pentanediol 35 to 50%, water 10 to 40% and sodium petroleum sulfonate 4 to 10%. Di-tertiary amyl phenoxy propanol may be substituted for the corresponding ethanol compound and with similar foam suppressing results.

The amounts of the anti-foaming agent which may be required vary widely according to the nature of the foam to be suppressed and the mechanical conditions which obtain, but in any case are very small, viz. as low as 0.001% by weight (on the basis of the active foam inhibiting ingredient present) of the aqueous body or system to which the inhibitor compositions are added. This is often sufficient and generally constitutes a suitable initial or trial addition.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed, changes being made as regards to the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

We, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:

1. A composition for suppressing the formation of foam in aqueous systems consisting of, by weight, 20 to 40% di-tertiary amyl phenoxyethanol, 35 to 50% 2-methyl-2, 4-pentanediol, 10 to 40% water and 4 to 10% of a sodium petroleum sulfonate.

HENRY E. TREMAIN. LESLIE R. BACON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,964,641. Mathias June 26, 1934 1,981,634 Richardson et a1. Nov. 20, 1934 2,079,793 Donlan May 11, 1937 2,158,958 Coleman et al May 16, 1939 2,158,959 Coleman et al May 16, 1939 2,386,106 Gangloif Oct. 2, 1945 OTHER REFERENCES Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 3rd edition, (1942), page 253. 

